Mayor Ted Gatsas is not one to squander an opportunity. He certainly didn’t do so on Wednesday when for a few short minutes he passed through the spotlight of the national media.

Gatsas was the first to take the stage at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s first New Hampshire event after his narrow victory in the Iowa caucuses. He was supposed to do what Sen. Kelly Ayotteand former Gov. John Sununu did, which is simply sing the praises of the candidate they endorsed. But Gatsas took a momentary detour, bringing up the city’s ongoing battle with the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act requirement that students who have little to no English skills undergo standardized testing.

“For the last two years, I’ve been talking to the administration about getting waivers for our English language learners, and guess what? They’ve said no or they’ve not responded, and that’s wrong,” said Gatsas. “I know when Mitt Romney is President, he will make sure things like that don’t happen because local control is important to him.”

I’m sure this left the national media scratching their heads, wondering why a city in a state that’s known for its almost entirely white population is stressing about a few kids who speak another language. What they likely didn’t know is that nearly a quarter of Manchester students are non-white, the city is the state’s main refugee relocation center and depending on who you ask, there are 60 to 80 languages spoken at Central High School.

Gatsas said in an interview after the event he probably should not have mentioned the language thing, but he made sure to talk about it when he spoke to a reporter from Time Magazine after the event.

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ALDERMAN ED OSBORNE wants people to know he didn’t vote for a Board of Alderman chairman because he doesn’t think there should even be one. Osborne was the sole member to abstain from voting for a chairman last week in a vote that went to Dan O’Neil over Jim Roy. Osborne said he saw no practical need for the position.

“When you’re going against your colleagues from the beginning, you can’t help but keep a sour taste in your mouth throughout your term,” said Osborne.

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AND IN AN OVERSIGHT, the final vote for board chairman was incorrectly called unanimous in Wednesday’s New Hampshire Union Leader story. Alderman At-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur said he did not vote for O’Neil after Roy called for the board to hold another round of voting for a unanimous count.

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MAYOR GATSAS PUT forward only one rule change on Tuesday, to ban electronic devices from the chamber. That aldermen and school board members check their text messages and update Facebook during meetings has been a pet peeve of the mayor’s for more than a year, and he has tried, in vain, to restrict this on his own.

The Board of School Committee had serious reservations about the ban. Committee member Arthur Beaudry asked whether it included lap tops (a move that could potentially have banned this reporter’s most vital tool in the chambers), and Committeeman John Avard was against it because it could prevent his family from contacting him in an emergency — or his children from wishing him a good night before they head to bed.

Gatsas’ rule change didn’t get far. It couldn’t even muster a second. The mayor did not raise the rule change when the aldermen met moments later.

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WITH ALL THE SATELLITE trucks, cameras and reporters flooding the city last week, one news organization that had pledged a large presence in Manchester was absent from its spot in City Hall Plaza.

ABC News had reserved the right to broadcast from outside of City Hall, the same spot it occupied during the 2008 primary. The deal with the city included blocking off part of the street and reserving the Middle Street parking lot for what was supposed to extend through Jan. 13. But ABC News backed out in the last few days of 2011, citing an executive decision driven by cost. In an email sent to Manchester police and the Parking Division, ABC News called the decision “a huge bummer.”

While it won’t be a bummer for the people who work or live in the City Hall area, it will be a loss of cash for the city. ABC News had agreed to pay all-day parking fees for the Middle Street lot spots, around-the-clock police details and all snow removal required in the area during its stay.

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THE FOLLOWING is a list of committee assignments given to the aldermen on Tuesday. The first person listed is the chairman.

Accounts, Enrollment and Revenue Administration Committee members are Dan O’Neil, Patrick Arnold, Garth Corriveau, Patrick Long, and Barbara Shaw.

Administration and Information Systems Committee members are Phil Greazzo, Thomas Katsiantonis, O’Neil, Russ Ouellette, and Bill Shea.

Bills on Second Reading Committee members are Joyce Craig, Arnold, Corriveau, O’Neil, and Ed Osborne.

Community Improvement Committee members are Roy, Craig,Greazzo, Ouellette, and Shea.

Human Resources and Insurance Committee members are Shea, Greazzo, Joe Kelley Levasseur, Ron Ludwig, and Roy.

Lands and Buildings Committee members are Osborne, Craig, Levasseur, Ludwig, Shaw.

Public Safety, Health and Traffic Committee members are Ouellette, Katsiantonis, Long, Osborne, Roy.

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ON THE SCHOOL BOARD Athletics and Extra Curricular Activities Committee are David Wihby, Roger Beauchamp, Ted Rokas, Donna Soucy, Debra Langton.

Building and Sites Committee members are John Avard, Kathy Staub, Christopher Stewart, Erika Connors, and Arthur Beaudry.

Coordination Committee members are David Gelinas, Avard, Sarah Ambrogi, Langton, Beaudry, Wihby, and Mayor Gatsas.

Curriculum and Instruction Committee members are Ambrogi, Connors, Beaudry, Roy Shoults, and Rokas.

Finance Committee includes Gatsas and all other members.

Student Conduct Committee members are Langton,Shoults, Beauchamp, Jason Cooper, and Ambrogi.

Information and Technology Committee members are Beaudry,Staub, Avard, Stewart, andCooper.

Read Beth Hall LaMontagne’s coverage of Manchester City Hall in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Email her at bhall@unionleader.com.